tegwin
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| posted on 22/3/23 at 04:11 PM |
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Why am I so against smart meters?!
EDF are once again pushing for smart meter installations....offering a £100 incentive now...
I get that data relating to anything electronic we do now is pretty much stored and sold online.....I hate this but it a price you have to pay for
access to the electronic world (debating if this is a good thing another day!)
But... I feel an amount of resentment towards having my gas and electricity meters sending live data to their masters. I don't know why this
bothers me so much but it does...... Anyone else have the same grumpy feels about this? I just hate authority :p
Ok so I have to remember to read the meters every few months and submit the numbers but I can cope with that....why else do I need a smart meter? I
don't need one of those little monitoring devices to tell me that I am using too much energy... If I turn something on, I did so because I wanted
to use it 
I WOULD be swayed into getting a smart meter if they did away with the daft monthly guestimate direct debit and just debited what I spent each
month.... but not on a pre-pay kinda rate...especially if they just decide to force people onto such a rate. 
As rants go, its pretty rubbish.... but curious to know how you lot feel.
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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nick205
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| posted on 22/3/23 at 04:32 PM |
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Rant noted.
My previous utilities supplier came and fitted smart maters (free of charge) a few years back. All worked fine, No longer did I have to read the
meters.
My rant
Changed utilities supplier to a cheaper one.
New supplier starts demanding meter readings.
I tell them I've got smart meters.
New supplier tells me they can't read those smart meters (they're non-compliant)
I get new supplier to fit new smart meters (free of charge)
Life goes back to not having to read the meter.
Apart from that, I don't have an issue with them. Saves me having to arse about reading the meters.
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rf900rush
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| posted on 22/3/23 at 04:52 PM |
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It's Very simple.
If the energy company wants you to have one, it means it's financially better for them.
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loggyboy
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| posted on 22/3/23 at 05:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by rf900rush
It's Very simple.
If the energy company wants you to have one, it means it's financially better for them.
Only benefit for them is 100% accurate readings so much less admin with rearranging credits or debits, which is a mutual benefit as you dont have to
over pay so money thats yours stays in your bank for longer, not theirs.
There's no privacy issues as the only connect to your wifi, not to your computers.
[Edited on 22-3-23 by loggyboy]
Mistral Motorsport
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perksy
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| posted on 22/3/23 at 07:40 PM |
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Had numerous emails from EDF aswell
But I've had numerous comments from folks about reliability of them etc, So I'm happy to stay as we are at the moment
I just send them regular monthly meter readings online...
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 22/3/23 at 10:13 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by tegwin
I WOULD be swayed into getting a smart meter if they did away with the daft monthly guestimate direct debit and just debited what I spent each
month.... but not on a pre-pay kinda rate...especially if they just decide to force people onto such a rate.
You can choose tariffs that debit what you have used, monthly (not sure if they are a month in arrears), on DD rates, rather than 12 equal
payments.
There are also tariffs that charge an estimated sum and then adjust the following month if the real reading shows a difference.
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JC
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 05:45 AM |
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Come and live in Lincolnshire! I’ve had several attempts from the electricity supplier, and my oil supplier, to coerce me into smart meters and smart
monitors. Every time they come round, they scratch their heads in confusion and say
‘You’ve got no 4G signal mate’
There are advantages to living in a mobile phone black spot!!!
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roadrunner
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 06:58 AM |
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As rants go that was pretty lame.
But we are all here to listen (and maybe chuckle)
I think smart meters are fantastic. Fit and forget.
I now have solar panels, so monitoring my usage to what I export and how much I am actually spending especially with the cost of energy as it is right
now is so easy.
And I even live in Lincolnshire.
[Edited on 23/3/23 by roadrunner]
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HowardB
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 07:09 AM |
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smart meters are all about profit for the utility. The small convenience to you is far outweighed by not having to make multiple trips to a property
to read a meter.
It also introduces next level billing,..
We have had for years economy 7, Octupus have discounted rates, these can get more complex and more nuanced with smart meters and the option for
minute by minute rate change.
I have a smart meter, it connects to my electicity ok and every day tells me I am over budget - and yet each month my in credit balance grows.
I am not against the idea of accurate reading, I am less happy that a qualified person doesn't look at my meters every few years and even less
happy that some meters are battery powered and will need replaced in 10 years,. seems wasteful to me,
Howard
Fisher Fury was 2000 Zetec - now a 1600 (it Lives again  and goes zoom)
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 07:29 AM |
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The "over budget" thing really annoys me! It's entirely within the display, and I wish there was a way to turn it off. It's not a
message that comes from the supplier.
I often charge one of our 2 electric cars overnight, so according to the display I am always "over budget", as our consumption is much more
than the normal user. The additional cost is still much less than paying for a tankful of fuel every couple of weeks though!
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BenB
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 12:56 PM |
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One thing to be aware of is that Smart Meters don't measure kWh they measure VAhr.
Which should be the same but it isn't.
Also potential issues with low power factor devices in relation to real vs apparent power.
I believe that all electrical suppliers in the UK for domestic settings charge according to real power however I don't think it's actually
written in stone anywhere that they have to.
Old fashioned spinning meters measure actual power. Smart meters it's up to the company. In the same way they could decide to charge according to
a nominal voltage of 240v even though that's rarely the actual voltage supplied to a home.
I'm still on an old spinny one. I'd like to be on a smart meter but they want to charge me. At present we've got Economy 7 meters but
are on a tariff which works as if it's non E7 but you still give two readings. To move us onto a full fat normal tariff they want to charge to
change to a non E7 smart meter. Though they'll quite happily fit a smart E7 meter....
The thing that really annoys me is that before the last price hike our supplier suddenly decided our gas smart meter wasn't phone home and did a
ridiculously low estimate. Of course once the price hike came in they suddenly found they could connect to the smart meter again, except the
"missing" units were charged at a higher rate.....
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Sanzomat
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 03:12 PM |
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We held off going smart for a while, mainly due to scepticism re data and stories of unreliability in the first generation meters etc. After a while
and when offered an incentive to change we went for it but when the fitters arrived they said we couldn't have a smart gas meter as our gas is
supplied at medium pressure which was a surprise to me. They fitted electric only and we still got the incentive payment. We changed suppliers a
couple of years later and the new supplier (Octopus) queried why we only had electric on smart. We told them about the medium pressure and they said
that wasn't a problem other than having the right qualifications for the fitters who install it as most smart meter installers are only ticketed
for low pressure apparently. It was booked. The relevant people arrived and then said they couldn't find an isolator on the supplier line (should
be in the road verge apparently but they couldn't find it). They got Wales and West Utilities out who turned up with six guys, each in their own
vans, so seven vans in total with the original crew. They were there for nearly 3 hours and in the end did the swap-over live with a huge loud woosh
as a decent amount of gas squirted out into the atmosphere at medium pressure while they did up the new fitting. Haven't a clue if this was the
right and proper way of doing it but the top guy had phoned head office for permission and had filled in a load of paperwork so I guess it was kosha.
Seemed highly dodgy to me! Three years later it seems to work fine and no problems and we got a second incentive payment too so can't grumble.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 05:46 PM |
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I still have mechanical meters. I have a home automation system. I use cameras to read the meters automatically. My solar system back feeds the elec
meter so any net I generate I get paid at the full tariff. If I get smart meters I get paid buttons. There's zero benefit anyway, who cares what
the meter readings are, I use my house the way I need /want and read/register the meters every few months.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 23/3/23 at 05:49 PM |
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quote:
The thing that really annoys me is that before the last price hike our supplier suddenly decided our gas smart meter wasn't phone home and did a
ridiculously low estimate. Of course once the price hike came in they suddenly found they could connect to the smart meter again, except the
"missing" units were charged at a higher rate.....
Don't know who you're with, but bulb corrects mine with the correct rate for the period.
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snapper
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| posted on 24/3/23 at 02:51 AM |
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It’s deep state paranoia…
or fear of things you don’t understand…
If your that worried about your data then the first thing you should do is get rid of your smart phone, ever noticed that after a conversation with
others on any particular consumer product your social media feed starts throwing up adverts for the very same product even though you’ve never
searched for it!
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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nick205
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| posted on 24/3/23 at 07:21 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by snapper
It’s deep state paranoia…
or fear of things you don’t understand…
If your that worried about your data then the first thing you should do is get rid of your smart phone, ever noticed that after a conversation with
others on any particular consumer product your social media feed starts throwing up adverts for the very same product even though you’ve never
searched for it!
Indeed, probably more things to worry about than the average person has time for.
Just had to replace our boiler.
Done on my work PC/mobile.
Now everywhere I look on the net, on seemingly any device, I'm bombarded with boiler ads, boiler cover ads and on it goes.
I seem to have got numb to adverts and glide past. Can't be good for you though.
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 24/3/23 at 03:49 PM |
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quote:
Done on my work PC/mobile.
Now everywhere I look on the net, on seemingly any device, I'm bombarded with boiler ads, boiler cover ads and on it goes.
I seem to have got numb to adverts and glide past. Can't be good for you though.
It's linked to your router IP address. That's why if you search for diamond rings, your partner gets the adverts too regardless of how
incognito you try to be.
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snapper
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| posted on 26/3/23 at 06:36 AM |
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To add to my previous reply, I have a smart meter and it helps with managing budgets, usage information is much better, I can see individually what
uses the most electricity (fridge light uses more than I thought it would!) I have applied for a smart gas meter as British Gas bills quarterly but
they have said it may take 12 months to fit!
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 26/3/23 at 06:55 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by snapper
To add to my previous reply, I have a smart meter and it helps with managing budgets, usage information is much better, I can see individually what
uses the most electricity (fridge light uses more than I thought it would!) I have applied for a smart gas meter as British Gas bills quarterly but
they have said it may take 12 months to fit!
Can I ask what you feel is better? You can buy a 5 quid power usage meter on ebay if you want to know what your fridge bulb uses? I don't get the
helping to manage budgets line that the energy folk always say, if you pay by dd they take a predictable amount off you each month anyway, and after a
few months their predictions are pretty close. You don't need the smart meter for that, you just supply a reading once every few months.
[Edited on 26/3/23 by coyoteboy]
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SJ
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| posted on 27/3/23 at 10:05 AM |
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I have one but would avoid it if I could on the grounds that it's pretty useless and generally when something is 'smart' what they mean
is it's trying to be smart but is in fact really stupid.
I'd rather take a meter reading and keep an eye on things that way.
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